Sathya Sai Baba The World-Avatar Teaching and Revelations

There are many countries on the very peak of material civilization and
are very proud about the heights which they have reached. But, have
they acquired mental peace? Have they got rid of fear or hate, greed
or pride?
Of course, there must be a certain degree of comfort for man, physical
and mental. But, gaining the things that give comfort should not be the
aim of living; once that path is selected, wants multiply and satisfaction
becomes elusive. The capacity to distinguish between right and wrong
will be dulled; egoism will become sharp and strong, thirst will increase
with each quaff, hunger will gnaw more and more with each morsel of
the food of material possessions. That is their real nature.
Ask yourself the basic question: “Is there something that can be called
happiness? Can it be attained by the accumulation of material things?”
No. Happiness can only obtained through the knowledge of the self,
through the supreme cosmic reality which is the source and spring of
Divine bliss. You delude yourselves when you argue that happiness
can be derived from things outside yourselves. 6.11.67, (20-125/126)
The only steadiness that man has in this dreadful darkness is the
name of God. That is the raft which will take him across this stormy
sea, darkened by hate and fear, churned by anxiety and terror.
People admire the phenomenal advance of science. But the advance
has been from fear to greater fear, from destruction to more destruction.
In prehistoric times, men killed each other using bows and arrows:
now they kill entire populations with the help of atom bombs; this is
praised as a achievement remarkable! The scientist cannot stop the
rise of greed and hate in the human heart; he can only forge the weapons
they require and improve upon their lethal efficiency. Mankind
lives in daily dread of extinction as a result of the discoveries of science;
any moment the storm of hate could rain bombs on their homes!
Science has deprived man of self-confidence. He is not sure even of
himself. He is afraid of himself, for at the slightest provocation, he is
transformed into a wild and vicious beast. (...)
Seekers from overseas are trekking towards this country attracted by
its ancient lessons, teaching the way to acquire inner calm and inner
light. They are apprehensive of the calamity towards which their countries
are heading. They have confirmed the validity of many practices
which you have been led to discard as superstitions. They have
opened your eyes to values which you had neglected, with on air of superiority
born of little acquaintance with science. They have found that
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